Possible tornado, storms caused more damage Thursday night in west

Possible tornado, storms caused more damage Thursday night in west-central Sask.

Grain bins, semi trailer flung hundreds of metres

Significant damage was found after a tornado was reported about five kilometres northwest of Kerrobert, Sask., on Thursday night.

Severe weather specialist Jenny Hagan said she spotted the touchdown around 6:30 p.m. CST, at a yard site just two kilometres east of the village of Denzil.

"I spoke to the owner of the yard for a while. He was thankful that he wasn't there at that time," said Hagan, who described the wreckage of several bins thrown by the wind.

"There were parts of the hopper bins that were thrown all around the yard — east, west, north, south," she said.

"There was a grain bin in each direction in that farmyard … Part of a super-B trailer was picked up and thrown over top of another semi, and landed a few hundred yards down by a gully in the yard."

Environment Canada said it's waiting on the Northern Tornado Project to confirm the tornado and determine its scale.

"A few residents that live in the area, they said that tornado warning went off and the storm was going, and it was the most terrifying thing they have ever experienced," Hagan said.

Prior to that, Hagan said she also saw a weak landspout tornado touch down around 3:30 p.m., about 12 kilometres north of Kindersley, but it didn't cause any damage.

Environment and Climate Change Canada meteorologist Terri Lang with said there were reports that the powerful storm was accompanied by golf ball-sized hail.

"We had a line of storms that kind of developed speed as it went along," said Lang.

"All of the ingredients were there that were needed … There's lots and lots and lots of moisture around, we finally got some heat in some of these areas …There was enough instability in the upper atmosphere to allow those storms to develop enough to develop tornadoes."

"The crops are growing. They give off a tremendous amount of moisture and we already have a bunch of moisture around," Lang said. "We're just kind of waiting for that heat to kick in, so I think we're going to have an active summer at least for the next month or so."

Lang said hail, thunderstorms, extreme rain and tornadoes continue to be real possibilities for the province.

"I'd like to say it's going to be sunny and hot for the next week or so, but I just don't think it's going to happen," she said.

"We're right in the heart of the severe weather season in the province. So we hope that people kind of keep that in the back of their mind when they're making plans out in the lake and that type of thing. "

Alex Kozroski is a reporter with CBC News in Regina. He has also worked as a reporter for Golden West Broadcasting in Swift Current, Sask. He can be reached at alex.kozroski@cbc.ca